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April 2026

April 19, 2026

Teachers with Guns

In my ethics class last Thursday we began our final unit of the semester: Gun...

March 2026

March 15, 2026

The Problem with Substituionary Atonement

I just returned yesterday from a wonderful week with Justin in Sweden! To get back...

January 2026

January 11, 2026

A Conversation Between Jesus and Creepy John

The gospel lectionary reading for the First Sunday of Epiphay traditionally is one version of...

December 2025

December 21, 2025

Joseph the Step-parent

In my religious tradition, we didn’t do saints. We did do Christmas pageants—big time. I...

August 2025

August 24, 2025

When We Say What We Don’t Believe

Today's appointed lectionary Psalm is one of my two or three favorites of all of...

August 22, 2025

The Punctuation of the Spirit

In my life-long spiritual journey, the decade of my twenties was the charismatic decade. No,...

August 15, 2025

Owls, Penguins, and Joy

Just about fifteen years ago, on a beautiful summer morning very similar to the ones...

July 2025

July 31, 2025

Do My Masculine and Feminine Side Like Each Other?

The Fall 2025 semester begins five weeks from last Tuesday. I guarantee that if you...

July 20, 2025

Anna’s Promise and the Power of Love

In spite of my love of and occasional success with flowers and plants, I have...

June 2025

June 29, 2025

Did Jesus Care About Family Values?

Throughout the gospel lectionary readings in Ordinary Time, Jesus regularly says surprising things that contradict...

June 17, 2025

Which Sport Does the World’s Most Interesting Man Prefer?

My brother and I stay in contact most regularly on Facebook, where he had the...

November 2024

November 12, 2024

Darkness, Silence, and Prayer

One Sunday some time ago as I was listening to our local NPR station in...

October 2024

October 27, 2024

Now My Eye Sees You

The lectionary readings from the Jewish scriptures this month have walked us through the Book...

September 2024

September 10, 2024

Remembering Frieda–a dog who was a person

Facebook reminded me that we lost our beloved dachshund Frieda six years ago yesterday. She...

August 2024

August 23, 2024

Non-Toxic Masculinity on Display

The non-toxic masculinity that has been on display at the Democratic convention in Chicago this...

July 2024

July 14, 2024

The Head of John the Baptist

Today is the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost; the gospel reading from Mark tells the story...

June 2024

June 13, 2024

The Fruit of the Spirit

A shorter version of this essay from Fall 2021 will be the entry for the...

June 11, 2024

Jesus and Family Values

As I work on putting the final "Ordinary Time" chapter of my book A Year of...

June 08, 2024

Sixty-Nine on 6/9: It’s Jeanne’s birthday!

Tomorrow is Jeanne's birthday, and it's a big one! As she's been telling everyone, she...

May 2024

May 10, 2024

She Opens Her Mouth with Wisdom: A Mother’s Day Reflection

Sunday is Mother's Day--it also happens to be Ascension Sunday, so this weekend gets a...

April 2024

April 04, 2024

The Rapture or a Random Harvest?

Perfect submission, perfect delight, Visions of rapture now burst on my sight; Angels, descending, bring...

March 2024

March 24, 2024

Kicking Off Holy Week: “I’ll be Jesus”

The Palm Sunday celebration in a liturgical Christian church can be both confusing and jarring....

March 05, 2024

Another Birthday Tomorrow–do I have anything new to say?

Tomorrow is my birthday (#68)--the fact that my youngest son finds a way to travel...

February 2024

February 27, 2024

God, Your Boss at Applebee’s, and Larry

An alternative title for this essay might be “A Comedian Interprets the Parable of the...

February 13, 2024

Lent and Valentine’s Day

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent (my least favorite liturgical season). As the...

February 01, 2024

Is Religion a Virus?

The last time I was a member of a search committee for a new tenure...

January 2024

January 30, 2024

What Sort of Bubble Do You Live In?

In my last post I wrote about being comfortable in my own skin as an...

January 28, 2024

Enneagrams, Personality Tests, and the Virtues of Elitism

A bit over a year ago at my brother-in-law’s wake, I spent several minutes chatting...

January 18, 2024

Real Wives of the Ancient Middle East

Last Sunday's lectionary reading from the Hebrew Scriptures is the story of God's call of...

January 07, 2024

When Things Got Real Between John the Baptist and Jesus

The gospel lectionary reading for the First Sunday of Epiphay traditionally is one version of...

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